Discussions

No one said you had to have a truck, or an SUV or 3 cars for a family of 4. I'm not speaking to anyone in particular but you do have recourse. Buy a smaller car or fewer cars, walk somewhere. Move closer to the places you go to frequently.  
 
I know it's been said to death but guys...enough already. You are not OWED gasoline, or oil or any of the stuff you complain about. Buy a gas station, they're always looking for new blood because no one wants to own them...they make zero money.

Going to provide a link that tries to explain the price of gasoline, and the author had help from some knowledge in the oil industry, namely Irving associates, and others. There was one part of the calculation that I had a bit of a problem with and that was the final freight number, the number they used was a 50,000 litre tanker and a price of 22 cents a litre. The distance from Sarnia to Toronto is somewhat similar to Brandon Winnipeg. Just my opinion is pretty steep freight rates.  
 
So for the no money part of it, check the link.  
 
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/gas-prices-unravelling-the-mystery-of-what-you-pay-at-the-pump-1.2955763  
 
Correction, should be MJ Irvin associates, they used to provide daily gas prices across Canada as well as rack prices.  
 
Edited by don brown, 2017-09-15 18:18:04

You control how much gas you use. If you know a gas station owner that's making a killing I apologize for my error. If the oil companies make billions...good for them. Esso isn't your Mommy. If we all drove smaller cars and lived within 50 miles of where we worked and didn't buy everything from 3000 miles away gas would likely be cheaper because there would be a massive surplus...and if it wasn't, it wouldn't matter because we wouldn't care. Ask anyone on the planet other than Canadians and Americans...(not the middle east because they subsidize the heck out of there gas).

I was in Portage la Prairie today and furled up at the Husky in the east end for 94.4. When I left the city a few hours later all were selling at 94.4.  
If anyone is heading east this weekend don't fuel up in Brandon. Have enough to get to Portage and fill it up. Wish I would have taken the gas cans with me.

The point is the cost to Brandon and the trading area, not the actual cost of gas.  
The latest numbers I can get says the per capita use if gasoline is 1100 litres per year per person, that works out to about 3.014 litres per person per day. Ok whoopy big deal. Let's just do some more math, Brandon and trading area, a conservative number would be 60,000, remember we are talking use per capita, I'll round that down to 180,000 litres per day for the area. Now let's look at a 11 cent difference in price per litre, I'll give them a 2 cent freight reduction. I'm using a 155 mile freight rate of 5.75 per loaded mile, which is sort of the going rate, which is $890 freight divided by 50,000 litres, less than2 cents, but I'll give them 2 cents.  
Now let's go back to the 180,000 litres that do get used per day at 9 cents per litre, now that works out to over $16,000 per day out of the Brandon and trading area.  
 
Maybe it's not a shocking number, but five days is $80,000, and how often a year does it happen, guessing at least every two months.

It is not the efficiency of the vehicle that people are complaining about. It is the price discrepancy between here and Winnipeg, even here and Austin.  
 
Popcorn Twist, thanks for trying. I received the same BS response from the Competition Bureau too.

I never understand responses that simply don't seem to address the question that has been brought up in these discussions ... or comments that simply lack critical thought to add to the discussion.  
 
MrDobalina, nobody is disagreeing with you with the fact that "nobody is forcing you to drive or own a truck, an SUV or any other vehicle". And no, people going about their normal lives simply don't have recourse when it comes to these practices. While I myself wish everybody was driving their own electric vehicles, the marketplace (at this point) is one where a very large and influential industry can - and IS - seemingly, manipulating fuel costs.  
 
I think you are dead wrong on this, when the discussion is about the DISCREPANCY in fuel costs between very close regional areas like Brandon or Portage, or Brandon and Winnipeg (separated by only a few hundred kilometres, at most). Why, when the discussion is about FAIR pump prices in similar markets in close proximity to each other, do you come up with statements like "You are not OWED gasoline, or oil or any of the stuff you complain about ..." At the end of the day, we are all - even you - at the mercy of using these fuels. These fuels are used to heat our homes, and to produce and transport our food, clothes, and other necessities. Even you use them!!! So why come up with these silly statements, when the discussion is not about that at all. The discussion is about WHY local gas stations seem to always want to charge people from Brandon on average about 10 cents more than people from Winnipeg and other surrounding communities. I think the fact that this situation exists is a statement to the fact that some local businesses think it's OK to take advantage of the locals and a complete lack of critical thinking for Brandonites in demanding that we be treated fairly, and not taken advantage of at every opportunity. This discussion has nothing to do with choices, but it does has everything to do with a situation where there seems to be a lack of accountability. Don't for one second think that a 10 cent surcharge for Brandonites doesn't fill some the pockets of some local businesses, in a very big way. That cost is passed on to everyone - even you - as someone forced to live and go about our daily lives in this area. Even the cost of your bus fare is affected through the local price of gas, and it is about time Brandonites start to ask WHY and have the discussion about why we seem to get the bitter end of the stick.  
 
Edited by JoeSixpack, 2017-09-16 11:52:45

Noticed gas at Co-op on 6th street was 94.9 yesterday.

Wondering if anyone has heard of this.  
 
I called a gas station in Brandon today (I'm from out of town) to inquire about the gas price (wasn't updated on gas buddy recently). The person who answers said he can't divulge the gas price as it's against competition regulations...  
 
I've never heard of that before. I mean, what's the difference in calling a store and asking the price of a product?  
 
I have called before and never had this problem.

Thank you for translating this message for Mr Dobalina who seems to just want to argue random points that have nothing to do with the OP.  
I agree that some pockets are being heavily lined locally and unless we make noise about it they will never be accountable. It is shear greed and nothing less. This particular comment from the competition bureau confirms it. It has nothing to do with the price of oil, it has nothing to do with delivery of fuel, it has nothing to do with the size of my car/truck/suv.....It has to do with the local companies deciding that they are going to charge Brandonites more.

Isn't Co-Op supposed to return profits back to the members? Then you can see how much the pockets are being lined.

ultraguy said "Isn't Co-Op supposed to return profits back to the members? Then you can see how much the pockets are being lined. "

I have gotten an equity check for years.  
 
On the other hand, my parents in a small town, never rec'd an equity check and they were members for forty years. But they built a new building, upgraded, depends on their profits. They did get a big equity check when they passed.  
 
http://www.heritagecoop.ca/wps/portal/crs/heritage/membership/membershipbenefits

Can someone clarify a point please? It is my understanding that the local gas stations are operated privately, more or less as a franchise under the specific corporate name (Shell,Petr-Can, etc) and it is the corporation that will set the price in the local market. The corporation pays the operator a set price per litre.  
 
A friend of mine used to operate an Esso and was paid $0.06/litre sold. He actually made more profit overall from the confectionary side than the fuel side, but the fuel brought people in.  
 
So that is what I am seeking clarification on: are the local gas stations paid a fixed price per liter sold? If that is still the case, then the increase profit margin goes back to the corporation and in fact does not line the local pockets.  
 
I drove back from Flin Flon today. I didn't notice what the price was when I left there as I was full but The Pas was at 108.9 /litre and both Mafeking and Dauphin were at 104.9 per litre, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got to Brandon and it is only 94.9.  
 
Dauphin is only about 100 km further from Winnipeg than what Brandon is so freight costs do not explain that price discrepancy. And of course Mafeking was the same price as Dauphin and is another couple hundred km's further yet.  
 
The thing that bothers me most about Brandon is that the gas stations are all almost always the same price. It strikes me as strange that unlike Winnipeg not a single one will drop their price in a competitive manner. If I didn't know better I would say that there was collusion amongst the corporations for the Brandon market...